Logo vs visual identity: what is the difference and which should you choose?

The logo: the sign

The logo is the distinctive sign of your brand. It is what appears:

• On your business card
• In your browser tab (favicon)
• In the corner of your slides
• On your product labels
• On the shirts you sponsor

It comes in several variations (colour, monochrome, square format for avatars) but remains a single sign.

What a logo service includes:

• 1 to 3 finalised concepts
• Vector files (SVG, PDF, PNG)
• Colour, black and white variations
• Square format and landscape format
• Mini usage guidelines (minimum size, clear space)

Budget: CHF 200 to CHF 50,000 depending on the provider (see our article on logo prices in Switzerland).

Timeline: 1 to 3 weeks depending on the provider and the complexity.

Visual identity: the system

The visual identity is the complete graphic system of your brand. It includes:

• The logo (and all its variations)
• The colour palette, with precise codes
• The typefaces (headings + body text)
• The iconography (icon style)
• The photography (the style to apply)
• The illustrations (if applicable)
• The templates (presentation, social media, stationery, email signature)
• The brand book that documents it all

Budget: CHF 3,000 to CHF 30,000 depending on the scope.

Timeline: 2 to 6 weeks.

An analogy to make it clear

The logo is the “ENTRANCE” sign of your shop: essential, and recognisable at a glance. Whether your customer’s experience feels consistent depends on the rest of the fit-out.

The visual identity is the entire fit-out of the shop: the colour of the walls, the typeface on the labels, the style of the photos on the walls, the signage, the staff uniforms, the sign outside, the packaging. It is what makes your customer perceive a consistent brand from the moment they walk in to the moment they leave.

What to choose depending on your situation

You are starting a business (recently founded)

Option 1 · Logo only: CHF 1,000 to 3,000. Relevant if your budget is very tight and you know you will redo the identity in 1 to 2 years, once the business takes off. A logo on its own gives you a business card, a basic website and a LinkedIn account.

Option 2 · Logo + Mini visual identity (Voren). To have the consistent bare minimum from launch. Logo + palette + typography + social media templates + email signature.

Recommendation: Option 2 if possible. Your materials share the same palette and typography from day one, and you will not have to redo everything in a year or two.

You run an established SME without a visual identity of its own

If you just have a logo made 5 years ago (often by someone close to you or a beginner freelancer) and nothing else formalised, you are flying blind. Your slides change style with every presentation, your website and your brochures do not look alike, and your employees have no reference.

Recommendation: a complete visual identity redesign (CHF 5,000 to 15,000). Keep the logo if it works, or refresh it if necessary.

You just want to redo your logo

Possible if the existing visual identity (palette, typography, templates) remains consistent and only the logo has aged. A logo-only redesign costs CHF 2,000 to 8,000.

Careful: if you redo the logo alone but the rest of the visual identity is 10 years old, you will end up with a mismatch. It is often better to redo the whole thing.

You are a post-Series A scale-up

At this stage, investing in a complete visual identity pays off. You have a growing team, external partners producing materials for you, and a brand that has to hold its own against competitors who have done their brand work.

Recommendation: a complete visual identity, brand book included (market budget: CHF 10,000 to 25,000), with a handover workshop for the team.

The classic mistake

“We’ll start with the logo and see about the rest later”.

It is tempting financially, but often counter-productive. Without a defined colour palette, your logo is created in colours that may not suit the system later on. Without a defined brand typeface, your website will be built on arbitrary type choices that may not line up.

Better: if the budget is tight, go for Logo + Mini visual identity (at Voren), which defines the logo, the palette and the typeface at the same time, as one consistent set. Extend it with a complete brand book later, when the budget allows.

The Voren format

Voren offers the two services separately, with a bundle mechanism:

Logo only:

• Essential: 7 days, 1 concept
• Premium: 10 days, 2 concepts
• Signature: 14 days, 3 concepts, typography and symbol

Visual identity only (with an existing logo supplied):

• Mini: 2 weeks, palette, typography and social media templates
• Complete: 4 weeks, with stationery and a 24-page brand book
• Brand book: 5 weeks, with illustrations and a 48-page brand book

Logo and visual identity together: a single quote, and 10% less than the two packages taken separately.

Going further

See the Logo service: three packages, rights transferred.

See the Visual identity service: three packages at fixed prices.

See your project: the price of each package, and the discount when you combine them.

Read our article on visual identity vs branding: the next step in the vocabulary.